Yoegwan Tour Y2k7

526 hours gallivanting across the Korean peninsula, making our way south-proved quite an interesting adventure. An endeavor entitled, Yoegwan Tour Y2k7, in addition to seeing the sights, Alex Page and myself set out in search of the best yeogwan in the country.

What exactly is a yeogwan and what's all the hype? Korean Yeogwan culture is quite taboo. Love motels as they are frequently called provide a space for young couples to escape the confines of living with parents or strict dorms well into you adulthood. In turn, yeogwans provide a plethora of options regarding sleeping arrangements: 1 hour, 1 night, circular beds, themed rooms, black lights, and personal hygiene kits available for 50 cents at the front desk. Nestled in the back alleys of all Korean cities and towns, the neon glow of establishments with names such as motel Eros and motel paradise, guide lovers down a heathenish path of lust and debauchery. Needless to say, I have never seen a Korean couple enter such an establishment with a bag of any sort. But every couple that stands awkwardly next to me in the elevator, I feel compelled to say-"I know what you did don't think the rubber curtains which hide the license plate of your car trick me."

It is important to recognize though, for the traditional budget traveler, these yeogwans are in fact the most humble of accommodations for the most reasonable price. And so we set out, in hopes of finding the most absurd of accommodations at a good rate. What we quickly realized though, was the fact that our budget did not provide a space for the type of accommodations we were looking for; personal noribang etc.


However, Motel Zen in Daegu proved to be our top choice amidst a slue of similarly priced establishments. In addition to the lovely decor-modern and hip, the hot tub and full massage shower with radio/CD player inside made me reminiscent of our luxurious Bali bathroom.

Motel Windmill in Gwanjgu caught our attention immediately. Who could ignore a larger than life neon windmill on the side of a 10 story building. Easy to find and circular chimdays! Amazingly, amidst the quest we only stumbled across one circular bed-somewhat surprising since lonely planet made them seem so normal. Once again, it must have been a mater of budget.

The medieval themed tour took a backseat to central locations, though the number of motel queens/princess/prince/castle make the task an easy undertaking for anyone looking for a fun quest. Motel Carib, the castle motel in Chuncheon, entertained our desires to over quote Borat as much as possible-"king of the castle king of the castle."

Motel Paradise in Seoul, seemed to have an American movie classics theme to it. That is until we entered our room. The room was on the tenth floor, in actuality the attic of the establishment as the elevator didn't even climb to this floor. We enter a room nostalgic of a 14 year old's bedroom; complimentary large gorilla stuffed bear and all. It made me feel uncomfortable, one that we are fetishizing 14 year old's bedrooms, and that the concierge, or whatever you would call such an individual who mans the check in desk, would assume such a room would appeal to our tastes. Perhaps more, was the frosted glass bathroom door-classy in most situations, when they don't have an airbrushed picture of a topless Korean girl seductively posing for the camera. Either way, we were rarely in this room, with the exception of an hour midday, which consisted of Alex watching a piss poor Kurt Russell action flick. MISERABLE.

Most yeogwans are not very accommodating to the actual traveler. For example the seemingly amazing Motel NuNu, charges an extra 20 dollars for anyone checking in before 10 pm. And, weekends are always extra. Some yeogwans like to capitalize on their one hour market, and therefore make travelers check out for the day and come back in the evening. I know lockers are available in the subway, but the last thing I am interested in doing is lugging a heavy pack around with hopes of finding storage for the day.

Motel Prince in Sinchon Seoul, has been by far the most accommodating, allowing bag storage for the day, helping me tekbay-ship bags, and in general being quite friendly.

Motel Vision 21 in Pusan, arguably the hardest motel to find ever despite it's central location, provided us with mood lighting that could make anyone go blind. Though it was better than Motel Enhasu in Daegu. A Yeogwan cited as the best by lonely planet, was dirty, lacked the variety of TV channels and has a malfunctioning USB port on the computer-completely unacceptable for a 25 dollar accommodation. I was terrified by the bathroom. Although I desperately craved a shower, I thought I might come out dirtier than when I entered and opted to postpone the endeavor until we found better accommodations.

Motel Theme in Seoul, and Motel Cello in Pusan were unworthy of noting really. Both were clean, but in no way entertaining. I think I did most of my job applications at these establishments because they provided no entertainment, bland, lacking black lighting, and certainly no circular beds. Though if I recall, the juice box selection was decent in both locations.

And who could forget the ship yeogwan. Let's just say while embarking on the final leg of our journey back towards Jeju, the mokpo ferry provides space for it's passangers to rest. A public yeogwan if you will. I found myself in the midst of an ajuma slumber party. I think they might have been the group of people drinking before getting on the 9 am ship. Morning alcohol binges are sure to put old women to sleep.

At the suggestion of friends, we checked out motel orange in Jeju. A fitting name for an island known for it's citrus production. Though I must digress for a moment and pose the question why a province famous for oranges groves, does not produce ORANGE JUICE? There is a market waiting to be penetrated and I feel like I could make some money making jeju famous orange juice. The accommodations were lovely, and the rules posted in the lobby even more entertaining. Rule number 5 clearly stated: "Minors (under 19 years old), even if they are with adults, should not share a bed with members of the opposite gender because it may corrupt public morals". At least Jeju holds itself to high standards, upholding morals, even in it's corrupt yeogwan
districts.

All in all, Motel Zen wins. Best all around. Even the ajumas running the place were friendly. Though they always seem so innoncent, considering they are contributing to the currption of family values and morals all around.